The Forgotten
by Sauura
Summary: She once again appears within his vision; pink hair, green eyes, a real beauty - He is glad to see her.
1. Chapter 1

**note:** _what a cliche..._

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He wiggles his fingers, his arm is bound to his form by a sling. The movement causes Sasuke to narrow his gaze – his arm does not hurt. He is not in pain.

"Same thing happens when I do that do my leg," Naruto remarks whilst lying on his bed. He right leg is elevated, a hard cast wraps around it. The blond wiggles his toes to demonstrate his statement. He winces from the slight pain.

An hour later, a doctor strides into the shared room of both boys. _'The world saviours'_ they had been called – or at least, Naruto was.

"You've done this village, no, _this world_ a truly great service," the doctor gushes, standing at the end of Naruto's bed.

The blond smiles, "thanks old man".

There was a war – that much Sasuke can remember.

He wouldn't be in Konoha if not for that circumstance. His condition as of now allows him no other choice. Naruto's enthusiasm reminds him that the blond's desire had to appear, at least to him, coming true before his very eyes.

He had gotten _his best friend_ back.

Naruto's chatter is endless, "so doctor, how long do me and the bastard need to stay here?"

The doctor's eyes briefly flick over towards Sasuke. There is no warmth in that gaze, not until it returns to Naruto, "we'll need to observe you overnight".

Naruto pouts, "aw dammit".

.

.

Kakashi visits them the next day. He comes baring no tangible gifts; merely a chuckle and a nod is what he brings. Naruto waves over the older man, ready to begin divulging the final days of the war that their old sensei had apparently not been around for.

Sasuke remains silent in his bed. He has remained silent for a while now. What feels like weeks, and months, have only been two days.

Half an hour in, and Kakashi notices the lack of involvement, "Sasuke, you're being unusually quiet".

Said Uchiha's response is cut off when Naruto decides to interject with a snort, "did you forget, Kakashi-sensei? The bastards always like that".

"Not always," Kakashi shrugs.

With this, Sasuke turns on his side, and mumbles something about needing to get some rest. His back faces them, Sasuke drowns out the sounds of Naruto's complaints.

.

.

He does not remember his dream. There are no images – but he can remember a sound; _a voice_.

The soft voice of a girl, or woman. She sounds so very familiar. But unfortunately, Sasuke cannot remember what it is that she said.

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.

They are to be discharged from the hospital this afternoon. Naruto is practically bounding in his bed with excitement. "Finally," he wiggles whilst still wearing a cast around his leg that limits him so.

Sasuke feels no better, but he also feels no worse. Which to him is expected because he'd not felt any issue the first day when he'd woke up and found himself wrapped in several bandages.

The doctors had not believed him when he'd told them of his lack of pain. _"Its just the medication, you still need to remain in the hospital for observation,"_ they had said. Whatever fight normally had resided in his spirit gave way at that moment. He had stayed until they told him he is ready.

"Bet you're excited to leave as well, huh bastard," Naruto gushes.

He is excited, though his countenance says otherwise.

"Oi, Sasuke. Say something," urges the blond.

Sasuke turns to his friend, "yea...yea I'm happy".

Naruto softens his expression. He gently nudges Sasuke with his shoulder, "hey, man. I..." he pauses, "I know this is a little weird for you. Being back in Konoha and all..."

Of course it is weird – he is still ranked a criminal, despite his actions during the war. His words against Konoha, his declarations against the shinobi world, so far he'd been sheathed under the guise of recovery – but that doctor's cold expression told Sasuke all he needed to know.

There will be consequences for his actions soon enough. If he were smart, he'd leave before then.

"So we're out of there now, I was thinking we should head to–"

"Naruto," Sasuke interjects, "I'm going to head home".

The blond blinks, "oh, okay...I thought–"

"I'm tired," Sasuke continues.

"Yea but," the grin of Naruto's is nothing but forced, "we've been resting in the hospital this whole time and like...aren't you dying to just, you know, not do that".

Sasuke tries not grin; _some things never change_. "I'll see you tomorrow," Sasuke replies.

Naruto scratches the back of his head, and nods. "Oh really, you're no fun".

.

.

His side of town is quiet tonight. No sounds of a television, no fighting couple, not even a bird can be heard through the non-existent wind. But this is normal, it is usually this quiet.

Probably.

"I thought Naruto would put up more of a fight trying to get you to Ichiraku's".

the voice is calm, and welcoming, and familiar. Sasuke looks up, to the pole of power line that runs above him. "Hello Kakashi," he remarks blankly.

The copy-ninja flickers with a blink, and is beside the younger man within a second, "heading home?" he asks.

Sasuke nods.

"Are you going to be staying home?" continues the older man.

The last Uchiha is caught between whether to smirk, or scowl. He should have figured that Kakashi would be able to predict his intention before they run its course.

In a split second decision, Sasuke decides to feign ignorance, "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Yes you do," the older man replies, "you're planning to leave the village".

Playing the fool is not a route to take; Sasuke clenches his jaw, "Do you blame me?"

"Its what I'd do".

"Good, so we've come to an accord".

The jonin stretches his neck, "not quite," he says. Taking two steps, he faces the older man. Kakashi exhales, letting his shoulders relax, "you don't need to leave the village".

"No, but I choose to".

"Yes, I can see that," Kakashi scratches the back of his head, "but you've only chosen this route because you believe the punishment for your crimes are not worth sticking around for".

"If this is about being a better person, and accepting my fate–"

"No, this is not that," Kakashi interjects, "I am here to tell you, Sasuke, that there will be no consequences for any of your actions before the war".

.

.

He is lying. It is all lies.

" _Believe me Sasuke, I can assure you there will be nothing. After all, I'm to be sworn in as the new Hokage within due time. So I can promise your safety,"_ Kakashi had told him.

Can he believe that?

And if so, why?

His presence in Konoha would be nothing more than an eyesore to everyone except his old team. But his former sensei had urged for him to focus on those that care. _"At least for Naruto's sake,"_ Kakashi had stated, " _at least stay for him, for his sake – he'd almost given up his life to get you back. Next time, it wont be an_ _ **almost**_ _"_.

Grade-A blackmail, Sasuke muses bitterly. Though Kakashi did have a point, on all counts of the situation.

He decides to stay for a week. One week, at least then he can test and see whether his former sensei's words had merit to them. Though Sasuke still packs his bag.

Only the essentials; just in case.

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On Monday the eyes of the villages watch him with scrutiny. However it isn't overly cold, most briefly glance towards him out of curiosity anyway.

On Tuesday there are a few glances, but most people go about their day with rarely an acknowledgement to his presence within the village he'd once spat to never be his home.

On Wednesday Naruto finds him by the training ground. He stands silently within the clearing, wanting to begin training but unsure whether or not he truly has the desire to.

But Naruto – _being Naruto_ – doesn't consider any such train of thought. Why would he? The blond bounds his way over to his friend, and punches Sasuke square in the shoulder.

Naturally, Sasuke stumbles back. Somewhat surprised that he'd not sensed the incoming source of stupidity. He rubs his shoulder, and knows that at least Naruto had been holding back. The punch was weak, very weak.

In fact, it didn't hurt at all.

"Hey, how come you've been hiding?" bombards the blond.

Sasuke replies, "what?"

Naruto chuckles, and folds his arms over his chest, "come on man, you're acting like a hermit – or something. You know the village isn't angry at you or anything, Kakashi-sensei made sure of it".

By Thursday, said jonin is officially sworn in as the new leader of the village. Reception for their old sensei is warm, and full of relief.

By Friday, Sasuke decides to stay in the village. He has two days left to make said choice, but he knows now he does not need it.

Without the threat of retribution for the village, there really is no need for him to leave. Naruto would prefer for him to stay, and so would Kakashi. The villagers, surprisingly, are rather indifferent to his presence. So why should he leave?

There is nothing to atone for, nothing to fix. Konoha, as a whole, may still hold a dark image within his mind – but that perception does not extend to the lives that now walk the streets of such a place.

.

.

That night, he has a dream. One that is vivid, and feels almost real.

There is a girl that stands before him. She is beautiful, and familiar. She smiles, and reaches out to him but cannot ever touch him.

Then, she fades.

"We should go for a spar, just the two of us".

Naruto looks up from his meal. Noodles hang from his mouth, the blond slurps them up quick enough to reply, "what, now?"

"Yes".

Naruto grins, and point to his meal, telling Sasuke that he wants to finish first. Sasuke replies that the knuckle-head only has five minutes.

"Ha," grins Naruto, "I only need four".

Three minutes later, the pair begin heading off towards the training ground. Naruto's chatter is incessant, Sasuke finds that he can maintain the conversation without and input. Until, that is, Naruto asks him, "why did you want to spar today?"

Sasuke continues looking ahead, "I don't know".

"Usually its me asking you to spar," replies Naruto.

Sasuke shrugs, "don't look into it too much".

.

.

It takes Sasuke all of seven minutes to _accidentally_ break one of Naruto's bones.

A cry of, "my wrist! Bastard!" is followed with Naruto collapsing onto the ground, still spewing out profanities of the childish kind.

Sasuke tries not to smirk, "I'll take you to the hospital".

"You better!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, "although, wont your tailed beast inside you heal this up?"

Naruto blinks, then gapes for a passing seconds, "no!" he cries out, "stop stalling bastard and help me!"

.

.

After dropping off the human representation of petulance; known also as Naruto, at the hospital, Sasuke had come to learn a quite interesting fact whilst waiting for the blond to finish his treatment. Sasuke, somehow during the spar, had broken two ribs.

"How are you not in pain?" the doctor had asked him.

A shrug and a bewildered look was all Sasuke could return in response.

Nevertheless, despite feeling no discomfort, he'd still been advised to _'take it easy'_. Which is easy enough to do – given the fact that he'd no missions coming up.

Arriving home, and kicking off his sandals, Sasuke makes his way towards the living room and sits on his couch without thinking. He looks down to his ribs – it didn't hurt, but his landing weren't as graceful as it could have been.

Putting that from his mind, Sasuke looks around the apartment of his that hasn't changed since he was twelve – with good reason. He glances over towards his left, upon the small table beside the couch, there is a photo framed as propped up.

He picks it up; it is the photo taken when he'd first been place on his genin team. Kakashi stood behind them, probably smiling but one could never really tell. The vitriolic but dear rivalry of himself and Naruto is captured perfectly within the moment of the shot. He scowls, whilst Naruto grumbles.

And that's it – the three of them in the photo.

Which isn't right, a team of genin should have three people.

.

.

"Who was our third member?"

Without any consideration for whom Kakashi may have been meeting with, Sasuke had entered the Hokage's office. The assistants protests are drowned out to white noise. Of course, it wasn't a meeting Sasuke had interrupted.

Kakashi looks up from his novel, "I'm busy".

"Just answer my question," Sasuke retorts.

The older man pauses, then sighs. He sits up in his chair, and nods for his assistance to leave the two of them be.

Once the doors to the office are closed, Kakashi begins, "what is this about, Sasuke?"

"Team 7".

"Okay".

"Who was our third member?"

If Sasuke weren't scrutinising the conversation, he'd have missed the slight twitch in the older man's eye. He keeps the reaction in mind, and listens to Kakashi's reply of, "there was no third member".

He frowns, "that's...not right".

"There weren't enough people in your graduating class. Which didn't matter in the end, you and Naruto proved enough of a team together without the need for another member".

Sasuke nods, but doesn't believe him.

.

.

That night, his dream is vivid once more.

There is a girl – woman. The same one from nights now past.

She smiles, and speaks to him, _"hello Sasuke-kun. I didn't expect you here"_.

Sasuke attempts to reach out, but instead, he feels himself instinctively reply to her, _"Sakura"_.

.

.

There should be three people on a genin team, but for his, there were only two. Naruto's story aligns with Kakashi's, and though he has no ground to stand on, Sasuke knows they're wrong.

"Is there a girl in this village with pink hair?" Sasuke asks one afternoon.

Naruto snickers, "pink hair, what – like dyed?"

"No".

"No one can naturally have pink hair".

Sasuke grits his teeth, "have you seen a girl like this before?"

"No".

Sasuke pauses, "alright".

Naruto snorts, and lies back on the ground, "there isn't anyone like that, bastard. No one has pink hair".

.

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A month into his stay, and Kakashi offers Sasuke the chance to take a mission.

And it isn't any sort of menial task where he'd be required to catch a feline, or weed a farmer's yard. No, his duty required of him the task of espionage, over several days. The hours were long, his task – rather difficult. But it was exactly what Sasuke needed to get his mind of the girl that plagued his dreams.

It takes him three days to complete his mission. He arrives back to Konoha with nothing more that a few scratches.

That night, he dreams once more – and she is there.

She once again appears within his vision; pink hair, green eyes, a real beauty.

He is glad to see her.

.

.

Her name is Sakura – this girl from his dreams.

And though he has no proof to this thought; Sasuke knows that his dreams are more than just wisps of his subconscious. These dreams are his memories, they have to be.

Months flow by, and every night now he'd relieve a new scene that he'd never seen before. Most nights, he merely holds a small three sentence conversation with Sakura. Some nights, they share a moment of silence. And all nights, she smiles at him. She is happy to be with him.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi step forth, falling in line with the Uchiha who scans the shelves of record room below the Hokage towers.

"She never existed," Sasuke remarks.

"Who?" asks Kakashi.

If he were to tell them now, they'd think something were wrong with him.

He clears his throat, and replies with a lie. Kakashi's raised brow tells the Uchiha that the older man doesn't believe him, but at the very least, Kakashi doesn't push for the truth.

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.

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" _Sasuke-kun, what is this?" Sakura asks, blinking in surprise, and blushing as Sasuke reaches for her hand._

 _He gently opens her palm, and drops a simple necklace into her grasp. The small charm of his clan's insignia draws attention to itself immediately as Sakura gasps, and looks up to meet his soft gaze._

" _Sasuke-kun, are you sure?" she whispers._

 _He smirks, "why wouldn't I be?"_

.

.

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He wakes without a fuss, his alarm clock illuminates the normal time for him to wake. He sits up, and buries his face within his hand; his groan his muffled.

That dream had been too real – no, it had been a memory. He is sure of it.

She was real, and she was important to him. _Sakura_ – she was blushing, and smiling, and looking at him as if he were her whole world.

Maybe she was a lover, or girlfriend...but that could not be possible. He'd abandoned the village, he'd fought a war, and now he'd been dragged back to Konoha. Where in such a journey would he have found time to establish a romantic relationship with Sakura?

It cannot be a memory – it must be a dream.


	2. Chapter 2

**note:** _rating change_

.

"She's checking you out, man," Naruto nudges the shinobi by his side; wriggling his eyebrows, and making no attempt to hinder his grin.

Sasuke rolls his eyes, and takes a sip of his sake, "I don't care," he replies.

Naruto responds with a whine, "aw really, bastard? You're not going to go for this one either?". It is a miracle in itself that Naruto is able to drag Sasuke out to a night of – as Naruto puts it – _Drinking, bar brawls, and the opportunity to get laid..._

However Sasuke has no intention on even attempting to go for that third option, "she isn't my type," Sasuke remarks flatly.

Naruto snorts, "you say that about all the girls that give you; _the look_ ".

Really, all Sasuke really wanted to do that night was to spend some quiet time at home. Why had he agreed to this?

"Come on," Naruto calls out, "why are you like this, is every girl here not good enough for you?"

Sasuke puts down his glass, "Naruto, drop it".

"No".

It is like dealing with a child, at times, "Naruto," Sasuke stresses out, "I'm serious, let it go. Go find someone for yourself".

"I will, I will," Naruto replies, "but if I don't help you score first, you'll never try! What? Do you want to die alone?"

Sasuke tries not to smirk. He turns to the blond, and raises a brow, "you're grasping at straws now, idiot".

Naruto turns up his nose, and takes a large swig of his drink.

A minute of silence passes the two shinobi before Naruto breaks the lull.

With a grin, and a sly look, Naruto rounds towards Sasuke, and asks, "hey...do you maybe...bat for the other team?"

He isn't familiar with that phrase, "what do you mean?"

Naruto clears his throat, "you know...like...are woman just, not really your thing?"

Trust Naruto to make this deduction. Sasuke shakes his head, "I'm just not interested in any one here".

He makes the remark blankly, but Naruto's suspicious glare to the response tells Sasuke that perhaps the blond has misunderstood – but then again, it isn't like Sasuke truly cares.

These woman at the bar; as lovely as they are, just aren't what he is looking for.

They just aren't who is looking for.

They aren't – _her_.

.

.

He looks forward to sleep now – although to be fair, a lot of people do. However for Sasuke it isn't the prospect of rest and recovery that entices him to bed, it is the fact that only when he closes his eyes does he have a chance to see her – to see _Sakura_.

This girl – woman; who appears nothing more than a figment of his imagination continues to, now, frequent his dreams more regularly.

It is almost every night that he sees her.

 _Sakura_

.

.

.

 _He turns to glance at her through his peripheral vision; Sakura tugs her cloak closer to her body, and exhales softly._

" _Are you cold?" Sasuke asks her._

 _Sakura looks up; green eyes bright with surprise, "huh?"_

" _Are you cold?" Sasuke repeats._

 _She smiles softly, "I'll be okay"._

 _Sasuke nods, and continues walking. He intentionally matches his pace to fall in line with Sakura's, the two walk close together – its the way he prefers it._

 _A few minutes pass before Sasuke remarks that there appears to be a hotel or inn up ahead that perhaps they could stay at. Sakura remarks to him that they can keep going if needed, there is no need to stop on her accord._

 _Sasuke smirks, and shakes his head, "I think we both need some rest, Sakura," he intones softly._

 _The timbre, yet rustic looking building perched high upon the cliff sides turns out to be an inn. An elderly man runs the establishment, Sasuke asks for a single room for the night._

 _The man nods, and fetches the key. Sakura pulls out the required money for board and hands it to the elderly man. He takes the payment, and smiles, his eyes dart between both Sakura and Sasuke._

 _His smile widens, "young love?" he remarks cheekily._

 _Sakura freezes, her cheeks instantly start to redden. She splutters, "wha – oh um...well its–"_

 _But Sasuke interjects, "yes, its our honeymoon," he says before turning on his heel and pacing off towards the room they've been provided._

 _A split second passes before Sakura quickly scampers to catch up to him._

 _They stop before their door, Sakura looks up to him and asks in a whisper, "why did you lie about that?"_

 _Sasuke pauses, raises an eyebrow, and smirks. He turns to open the door._

.

.

.

Kakashi generally didn't put Sasuke and Naruto on the same mission any more. It would be a waste of resources, but that fact never stopped Naruto from complaining about it.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto would whine, "me and the bastard work so well as a team! There's gotta be some mission where you'd need the both of us".

There wasn't.

This bothered Naruto to no end.

Sasuke – well, he couldn't care less.

"Sasuke, are you listening?" Kakashi asks, peering up towards the younger man over his pile of unfinished documents.

Sasuke frowns, "yes, I was".

Kakashi's gaze narrows, "what was I saying then?"

He had been listening – "you were assigning me a mission," Sasuke replies, "another reconnaissance, this time with a team".

Kakashi nods, evidently pleased that he'd been wrong about his earlier deduction, "that's right, you'll be assigned to lead a team–"

"Lead?" Sasuke interjects, a little louder than anticipated.

Kakashi leans back in his chair, "is that a problem?"

"Yes".

"Oh," Kakashi replies with faux surprise, "and why is that?"

His skills and abilities may surpass that of a sannin, however..."Kakashi, both you and I know I'm still genin rank". He regrets immediately rising to the bait and allowing himself to admit that.

Kakashi shrugs, "actually, you're technically still a missing nin".

.

.

"Wait, what kind of a loophole is that?!" Naruto roars, banging his hand upon the counter top.

Sasuke holds onto his bowl upon impact, so not to have any of the broth spill from Naruto's anger. "I don't know," Sasuke remarks blankly, "but as long as I'm not a genin, I can technically lead a team...and the rank of a missing nin isn't genin".

"This is bullshit!" Naruto roars, causing several of the other patrons to turn to see what the cause of the commotion was.

Sasuke will admit though, that rule _is_ a rather ridiculous one. Sasuke will admit that – but not out loud. Either way, his clearance to lead a team does, in no way, give him the ability to lead a team _well_.

These shinobi that he will be leading, they will know who he is. They will know of what he has done.

He may be their team leader for the mission come tomorrow morning, but Sasuke doubts that title will lend to any respect from the three shinobi that will serve under him.

"What is this – dattebayo! You commit treason and so the loophole works for you! But I saved the damn world and I'm still stuck as a genin!"

Naruto's rant continues. Sasuke tunes it out.

It isn't until Naruto's words become frequently laced with profanities do one of the staff approach their table and insist that they, " _please_ , keep it down".

Naruto chooses to ignore that request.

.

.

He falls asleep with concern that night. For tomorrow will bring with him a strange challenge he'd not expected to face so soon.

He could probably complete the full mission solo, Sasuke rationalises to himself.

That night, in his sleep, he sees _her_ once again.

.

.

.

 _He stares at the canopy of tree above; sunlight streams through the small gaps, the forest is a little too quiet, the weather is comfortable though._

 _He hears the sounds of footsteps approaching. He doesn't move, he knows who it is._

" _There you are," Sakura softly remarks, entering his field of view. She looks down at him as Sasuke lies content upon the forest floor._

 _His expression is blank, his demeanour conveys nothing more than a man spending his afternoon relaxing in silence._

 _But his facade doesn't fool the kunochi he travels with, "is something wrong?" Sakura asks._

 _He frowns; he'd not given anything away...how did she?..."I'm fine," Sasuke replies._

 _Sakura tilts her head, and steps away. She moves to sit beside his form ,"okay," she says softly._

 _He know that she doesn't believe him. He decides to ask, "what makes you think something is wrong?"_

 _He sees her shrugs, she looks ahead when she replies, "I don't know...it just looks like something is bothering you?"_

" _Really?"_

" _Really," she purses her lips, "but...you know, you're a hard guy to read Sasuke-kun," she grins, and speaks with levity, "sorry, maybe I'm just imaging things"._

 _He isn't exactly an open book, but Sakura does in fact read him well, "I'm just thinking," Sasuke remarks._

" _Thinking..." Sakura repeats softly._

" _Yea," he replies listlessly, "just thinking..."_

.

.

.

His team are far more blunt with their sentiments than Sasuke would have imagined.

"We will follow your orders, but don't think we've got your back," remarks one of his subordinates; a chunnin, several years older than him.

Sasuke is grateful for the manner in which his team have decided to approach him. Blunt, cold, but honest works best with him.

Sasuke replies back to his team that he'd have it no other way, before leading the squad out pass Konoha's gates.

.

.

.

The mission is completed with success, and so is his subsequent one, as well as the one preceding that. Kakashi is content with the quick work of the jobs Sasuke is tasked with, Naruto is far from it – more so the fact that his rank disbars him from enjoying missions of the same level.

During the eve of Sasuke's fourth successfully completed mission, Kakashi remarks to Naruto that technically, under this system, Naruto and Sasuke could now be assigned to the same mission.

Naruto takes a long sip of his drink through his straw before asking, "you mean, the bastard over here could be my team leader, right?".

Kakashi shrugs, but that gesture is enough to imply a yes.

Naruto snorts, and replies that he'll pass.

The conversation moves towards other topics, Sasuke doesn't pay as much attention to these. Not that Naruto or Kakashi takes notice of such a fact, the last Uchiha remains quiet as his company begin debating the matters of what defines as 'erotica' in regards to literature.

During the conversation, Sasuke stares down to his left leg. Under his pants, his leg is heavily bandaged – he'd sustained an injury during his recent mission.

But Kakashi didn't know that.

Nor did Naruto.

Nor did any medical professional.

Only he, and his team, had seen the blade pierce right through his left calf. Silence ensured from his team mates the moment Sasuke had grabbed the hilt of the sword, pulled the blade out of his leg, and continued fighting.

It wasn't a situation of fighting through the pain, or looking tough to garner the respect of the battlefield. No – in fact, the attack had left him with no pain whatsoever. He had not felt the blade enter his leg, nor had he felt any pain the moment he'd removed it. He'd certainly not been bothered as he continued fighting.

Sure, he had bled, _but the pain just wasn't there_.

It was odd – he knew that, but that that moment, he didn't care. He had a mission to complete, and he'd completed it with flying colours.

His team mates had assisted him afterwards in a poor job at stitching up the wound, and wrapping it in gauze. At the very least, the bleeding had significantly subsided however checking now, Sasuke cannot be sure if perhaps the wound has opened up or not.

The moment Naruto begins to try grabbing at the novel Kakashi waves above his head is the moment Sasuke notices three red dots seep through his pants.

He sighs, and excuses himself much to the surprise of the other two shinobi. "There is something I forgot to do," Sasuke remarks; a pathetic lie but one that works.

He leaves the bar quickly .

.

.

"You should be in pain," yawns the doctor, stitching up his patient with the attention of a man who has done this procedure a hundred times before.

Sasuke shrugs, "I'm not".

The doctor grabs a cotton bud, "that's something to be concerned about. I've never heard of such a thing".

He speaks in a monotone, Sasuke can feel himself loosing attention with each passing second.

.

.

He knows that she will be there in his dreams again, tonight.

She's been appearing every night now.

In some way, he looks forward to seeing her.

.

.

.

 _He stands beside Sakura as she heals a young girl. Battered, wounded – Sasuke doesn't know how this child has gotten in such a state, but he can feel himself angered by the fact that such a young girl is injured in such a way._

 _Sakura's calm voice soothes the girl, and allows her cries to turn to nothing more than sniffles as her wounds begin to fade upon the near touch of Sakura's healing chakra._

" _How are you doing that, miss?" the little girl sniffs._

 _Sakura smiles, "Its a special power I have"._

" _Its amazing," the girl softly replies._

 _Sasuke looks away from the young girl, and turns his line of sight towards the kunochi he travels with. He hinders the smile that threatens his lips._

 _Sakura; yes – she is amazing._

 _._

 _._

 _._

His eyelids open at the crack of dawn. The dream fades, and Sasuke is met with the silence of his empty bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**note:** _thanks to anyone who has reviewed thus far :)_

 _._

 _._

 _._

He is given a rather strange mission, "...bodyguard duty?"

Kakashi shakes his head, and scratches his chin, "not quite," he remarks

Early this morning, reports have come in of a young man apprehended just outside the perimeter of the city. In a very hush-hush nature, only the officers on duty know of the reason as to why this young man had been taken in. The officers – and Kakashi.

"So what crime did he commit?" Sasuke asks; point-blank.

Kakashi raises an eyebrow, "what makes you think he has committed a crime?"

"You've arrested the man," Sasuke replies, "am I not to think, that there should be some reason behind it".

Kakashi pauses, and gives a slight nod, "That's confidential".

Sasuke scoffs, "bullshit".

"Sasuke-"

"You want me to guard him, but I can't know why?"

The older man gives a look; _yes – that's exactly right._ Which – _annoyingly_ – made sense to Sasuke. Some things a shinobi is to know, and some, he cannot.

"Do you accept this job?" Kakashi asks once more.

Conceding defeat, Sasuke replies, "okay, fine".

.

.

The man is young, most likely the same age as Sasuke. There is a conventional attractiveness about him; the kind that explains why so many of the younger nurses have just "dropped by" for a check-up. The guard sits upon the hospital bed, left wrist chained to the bed railing.

Sasuke sits quietly in a chair in the private room.

The man was apparently injured, although he doesn't look it. When the third nurse leaves after her brief _'check up that the patient is still feeling well'_ , the man turns to Sasuke, and remarks, "My name is Akihiko".

He had not spoken a word for over an hour.

At the very least, it was an appropriate place to start.

Sasuke nods in reply, and looks away.

Akihiko smirks, "what's your name?"

Sasuke's eyes wander back to the man chained to the hospital bed. "Not relevant," he replies blankly.

The smirk isn't wiped from Akihiko's face, "you're Uchiha Sasuke, aren't you".

Said Uchiha refrains from rolling his eyes; it isn't an amazing feat that Akihiko knows of him – half the shinobi word probably do. Perhaps not for the best of reason, but there isn't any doubt that his name has travelled the lands.

Sasuke chooses not to answer.

A brief lull ensures; the sounds of the bustle coming from the hospital's corridors fills the silence. Soon after, Akihiko speaks once more, "I expected you to be different".

Sasuke doesn't raise to the bait, instead deciding that the _nothing_ going outside the hospital window be a more interesting place to look.

Akihiko continues speaking, "she, cares about you – loves you, probably. So, I thought you'd be different".

He has no clue on what Akihiko's talking about. Perhaps his words are intentionally cryptic.

The same nurse who'd just left pops her head in once more, and asks if she had left her hair scrunchie in the room. Sasuke takes this opportunity to stand up, and tell the nurse to wait here in the room until his relief has arrived. Then, he leaves – much to the displeasure of said nurse (and the confusion of Akihiko).

.

.

Sasuke joins Naruto (once again) to accompany him whilst he attempts (poorly) to get a girlfriend.

It isn't exactly the most logical way to spend his afternoon. But he wont deny, the longer Naruto's attempts drag on, the more entertaining the fact is.

"What happened?" Sasuke asks as Naruto drags his feet back to their table.

The blond plonks himself down on his stool, and sighs, "I...she wasn't that cute close up, so I decided not to go for her".

Although, from Sasuke's point of view, that isn't how the scene appeared to play out.

.

.

Sasuke comes home late. He kicks off his shoes, drags himself to his bed, and falls asleep almost immediately.

She is in his dreams again that night.

.

.

.

" _You see it as well, don't you," she whispers, keeping her head low, staring down to her drink._

 _Sasuke leans in to speak, "I don't think its a coincidence any more, Sakura. But, this isn't our fight"._

 _From an outside perspective, the pair appears nothing more than a young couple, enjoying their drinks, and perhaps sitting a little bit too close to one another but – ah; young love – its forgiveable._

 _However, appearance are deceiving, "Sasuke-kun," whispers Sakura, "don't you think–"_

" _Sakura, we don't know what we're dealing with here"._

" _I know, but..."_

 _He sighs, "Sakura..." he isn't too sure how to finish the remark._

 _Sakura pauses, purses her lips, and turns to look back to him. "Sasuke-kun," nervously, she begins, "if, you need to keep going – I'll understand. Its okay. But I..." she bites her lip, softly, "but I...I think I need to stay here. I want to help, even if I can only help a little"._

 _Sasuke waits, but his answer is in no way forced, or half-hearted. "Sakura," he says, "if you want to stay, we'll stay"._

" _Sasuke-kun, I don't mean–"_

" _Its okay," he gently affirms, "I understand"._

 _But she doesn't appear appeased by that answer. "I don't want to be the person to hold you back"._

" _You're not, Sakura. I've made my choice"._

 _She is still troubled, that much is sure._

 _Sakura leans forward, and takes a sip from her drink. A small chain glints around her neck, it catches Sasuke's eye – an Uchiha crest hangs from the silver._

 _._

 _._

 _._

His mission to guard Akihiko is boring, but pays well. Who knows why such a menial job has been tasked with an A-class classification. It isn't as if Akihiko has shown any tendencies for violent or disruptive behaviour. Quite the contrary; he is the most well behaved criminal.

"Have you thought about what I said?" Akihiko begins, breaking what would have been an hour long silence between the two.

Sasuke looks up, raises an eyebrow, then looks away.

Akihiko gathers that this means ' _no_ '. "Okay," he continues, "do you at least, remember her?"

Its too coincidental – it has to be. Sasuke sits a little higher in his chair, and scrutinises the expression upon Akihiko's face; is this person lying, or not?

Safe to say, Akihiko picks up on the glare, but he holds his nerve under the judgement. He waits for Sasuke to speak.

And so he does, "who are you talking about?" Sasuke asks.

Akihiko pauses, then smirks slightly, "ah, so you don't remember," he pauses, and whispers, "that's a shame".

The intentional vagueness bothers him. _Could he not just come right out and say it?_ "I'll ask again," Sasuke slowly repeats, "who are you talking about?"

Akihiko looks up. He frowns, then looks away, "it doesn't matter".

.

.

 _He has to be talking about Sakura..._

The thought rings through Sasuke's mind as he walks through the corridors of the hospital.

His relief had arrived less than a minute ago, which is enough signal for Sasuke to leave. Another highly ranked ninja who'd agreed to watch over the not-so-dangerous Akihiko. Perhaps he is doing it for the same reasons, Sasuke considers – perhaps its for the cash.

"Oh, sir. Watch the glass, please".

Sasuke is snapped out of his thoughts, a nurse points to a pile of shattered beakers just ahead of him. Sasuke nods, and begins to walk around. He hears the nurse notify a younger colleague that they need to clean up the mess immediately.

No one is paying attention to him, and so, Sasuke stops in his tracks, and looks down at the broken glass lying on the floor.

He takes a step closer, and bends down.

Ask him now why he'd chosen to reach out, and clutch the broken shard of glass in his hand – and Sasuke would not be able to tell you. At that moment, there was no rational decision behind that move. His actions all played on auto-pilot. All of it – up until he let go of the glass, and looked down to see his hand sliced open.

Blood seeped out quickly.

But the wound caused no pain.

.

.

"You wanna spar?" Naruto deadpans, scratching his stomach, and yawning thereafter.

Sasuke replies, "yes".

"Now?"

"Yes".

"Like...right now?"

Sasuke's left eye twitches, "...yes".

Naruto sighs, and scratches his upper left thigh, "its almost midnight..."

Sasuke continues to hold his expression of indifference, "so?"

Naruto frowns, then pauses, "yea, good point. I'll meet you at the training grounds".

.

.

With his hand bandaged up in gauze (messily, and poorly done to cover up his earlier incident of clutching onto broken glass), Sasuke waits for the knuckle-headed blond.

He bounds into the grounds; orange and yellow, "you ready, bastard?"

Sasuke smirks, and falls into an offensive stance.

It is in the next second that the fight begins; to the untrained eye – nothing but a blur proceeds. Their movements are quick, until the fight disperses as the pair jump back and begin to charge their long range attacks.

However, unbeknownst to Naruto, Sasuke's intention towards this spar had not been to win.

He wanted to lose.

To painfully lose.

Or – to be more precise; he wants to get hurt.

Naruto's Rasengan; now being charged with the help of his clones is the exact way in which he could inflict such an injury. Sasuke smirks, and charges his chirdori – _merely for show._

He takes a step forward, prompting Naruto to do the same with his attack. Only a second passes before the two shinobi charge at one another with the one-sided intention to attack. And its only then, just a split second before impact does Sasuke see something appear between himself and Naruto.

A girl appears – no, _a woman_.

Like a image; a memory. She appears between the two of them, on her knees; clothes ragged, hair a mess – she is crying. She is bleeding.

 _Sakura_.

.

.

"Oh, no...wait...No! Yes! He's coming to. Yes! The bastards alive – see, told you I didn't kill him Kakashi-sensei".

With his eye's barely open, Sasuke can only make out the blurry images of yellow, and grey. He assumes the other person in the room is the doctor.

"So, we've administered some drugs to lessen the pain," the doctor drones, "but it'll still hurt if you move, there isn't much we can do with injuries to such an extent".

And so, upon this, Sasuke moves his arms, legs, then sits up.

Naruto lets out a wail, "bastard! Did you not hear the doctor just now?! Keep still!"

Sasuke doesn't respond – Kakashi sighs, the doctor looks on; a little suspicious, and Naruto continues to yell. But Sasuke doesn't respond, he tunes out.

 _Why does nothing hurt?_

He should be in pain, he can deduce from the amount of bandages wrapped around his appendages that he should at least feel something but – he doesn't. _Why?_

.

.

Akihiko isn't sleeping, despite the time. He sits up, reading a novel – only with one hand given that his left is still chained to the bed. Sasuke hobbles in; there is only so much grace one can show whilst walking with a cast on their foot.

Without looking towards the guest, Akihiko closes his book, and puts it away. Then, he turns to greet Sasuke with a knowing smile.

The action bugs said Uchiha.

"So," Akihiko begins, "you appear to have injured yourself".

Sasuke lets out a huff, and sits himself down on his regular chair.

Akihiko continues to grin, "that's a good look for you," he remarks, nodding at Sasuke's not-so-flattering hospital gown.

Sasuke chooses not to rise to the retort, "why are you here?" he begins, point-blank.

Akihiko tilts his head, "why am _I_ here?"

"Yes," Sasuke replies.

The man chained to the bed leans back against his pillow, "my left leg is broken in three places, my right is broken in two. I've sprained my wrist, I've got three broken ribs, and I've been told that when they brought me in there was some internal bleeding".

The admission appears far-fetched, "you don't look like you're in pain," Sasuke remarks.

"I'm not," Akihiko replies.

A lull ensures, an understanding appears to form between the two men.

And so, with that, Sasuke decides to ask point-blank, "before, when you asked me if I remembered her – you were talking about Sakura, weren't you?"

From his brief time knowing Akihiko, Sasuke has never seen the man express a genuine look of surprise – until now. "You...remember," he softly replies.

Sasuke frowns, and leans forward, "I'm right, aren't I?...You were talking about Sakura".

Akihiko pauses, and looks down to his chained hand before looking back up, "huh...I guess I was wrong. I guess her faith in you wasn't so foolish after all".

This intentional game of; ' _lets only speak in short, crypic replies_ ' causes Sasuke to bite out a reply, "look, get to the point – are you talking about Sakura?"

He speaks a little louder than intended. Akihiko jumps, "huh?"

"Listen–" Sasuke slowly begins; a threat laced within his tone.

Akihiko shakes his head, "oh, sorry – I mean, yes. Yes, I'm talking about Sakura".

Sasuke's shoulders relax, he sinks into his chair – _good, he isn't going crazy_. "Okay," Sasuke intones, "alright, we're talking about Sakura".

Akihiko looks down to his bed covers, and smiles, "yea," he says softly, " _Sakura_ ".

The frown that comes over Sasuke's expression continues on the longer Akihiko smiles. _Why is he saying her name like...that?_

"So," Sasuke continues, perhaps a little more angrier than intended, "who is she to me? My wife? My lover?"

Akihiko's eyes snap up, he turns to Sasuke, "what? Your lover?"

Sasuke grits his teeth, but doesn't reply.

Akihiko picks up on the tension, "I...don't know. I have no idea what your relationship with her is. I only know Sakura," Akihiko stresses out, his natural cool now beginning to falter. "I only saw you...after you'd been taken".

Sasuke pauses, "taken?"

"Yea," Akihiko hesitantly replies, "or...I don't know. I don't know what you call what is happening. You were unconscious, but alive. She...she still believes you're not gone though. I can see why, _now._ But I just assumed you were a very dear person to her that she just...well...wouldn't give up on, that's all. Stubborn girl, pure heart – we've all seen it before".

This new information of Akihiko's is processed quickly within the Uchiha's mind.

 _He is unconscious?_

 _Or...he is taken?_

It still didn't make sense.

Sasuke looks back to Akihiko, "what is she to you?"

Akihiko blinks, "who? Sakura?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

Akihiko continues, "well...she...she saved my mother before she could get taken. She's the, um, one of the last hopes...really, for all of us. She's a really good healer, but you probably know that".

He does, "you appear to be quite taken by her though," Sasuke remarks, and then adding on how Sakura is most likely more than just ' _a really good healer_ ' in his eyes.

Akihiko grins, "I'm that obvious, huh?"

Sasuke replies with silence.

"Okay," Akihiko continues, "maybe...but I don't think I want to share that with you. Especially not since you feel as if she could have been your lover...or wife".

Sasuke replies with composure, "I can't be sure, but with what memories I have of her, it makes the most sense that that was the nature of our relationship".

Akihiko chuckles, and looks away, "ah dammit...well, it explains a lot".

It is at this point that the conversation between the two men end. A nurse comes by to check on them, she freezes when she notices the guest in the room. After all, Sasuke's choice to have a midnight stroll to another patient's room goes completely against the doctor's orders to 'not-move-unless-necessary'.

Sasuke leaves whilst the nurse lectures him. Out of the corner of his eye he catches Akihiko chuckling at the scene.


	4. Chapter 4

**note:** _thanks again to anyone who reviewed (I know it wasn't many, but I'm happy nonetheless :D)_

.

.

.

" _Why were there so many of them, why is this being kept silent?"_

 _She speaks quietly, softly. Her demeanour signals that she merely assesses the situation, for now. However Sasuke knows that whilst Sakura's expression give off only mild shock, with a hint of managing ones composure – truly, deep down, she is quite shaken to see the state of this village's hospital. And this coupled with the a comment one of the senior nurses had made - "this isn't the only village effected by...whatever this is"._

 _Perhaps they should be wondering more as to how they're even covering this up? And why?_

" _It doesn't make sense," Sakura mumbles, biting the nail of her thumb, "people are just, falling into...comas essentially. But its like they're sleeping, because their brain activity seems normal and yet they cannot be woken and–"_

" _Sakura," interjects Sasuke, leaning in and catching her eye, "we should eat"._

 _She at least attempts not to look startled, "eat?"_

" _Yes"._

 _She puffs her cheeks a little, then exhales, "how can we eat, there is a something going on and–"_

" _There isn't any point for us not to eat though, Sakura. Its been hours since **you** in particular have even had a meal"._

" _But–"_

" _Sakura, I'm serious," Sasuke intones, leaning back, "we'll think of a plan. But now, we're not going to be doing anyone any good in our state". Then, in what is perhaps a poor attempt at levity, Sasuke pokes Sakura's cheek._

 _An action only made in jest – however for a split second he'd thought that perhaps, **maybe** , he had done the wrong thing._

 _Although that second passes quick enough as Sakura giggles upon the action, with her shoulders relaxing. "Okay," she says, "we'll eat". She then pauses, before adding, "I'll buy"._

 _Sasuke frowns upon the remark, "no you will not"._

.

.

.

"These sound like memories," Akihiko remarks.

With his wrist still chained, he plays his cards with only one hand. A rather skillful trick; but not always so elegant. "I've got three jacks".

Sasuke rolls his eyes, "that means you're bust".

Akihiko frowns, "Since when?"

"Since those are the rules," Sasuke deadpans.

There is a row going on outside; a nurse fights with a doctor who, from the sounds of it, begins to get outnumbered. Akihiko puts down his cards and suggests another game – one he knows the rules to.

Sasuke as well puts down his cards. Akihiko takes a peak at the ace and king set Sasuke had been holding. "That means you won?" he remarks quietly; more to himself than to begin any sort of conversation.

Sasuke leans back in his chair, "I still don't get it," he remarks.

A sound of another beaker crashes just outside the corridor. Three days in a row now; either someone is extremely clumsy, or unlucky.

Or the hospital is stuck in some sort of strange loop.

Not that such a thing is even possible.

Akihiko speaks without looking up, he begins to collect and shuffle the deck of cards, "what don't you get?"

Sasuke looks up to the ceiling, and exhales loudly, "where is she?"

"Who?"

"Sakura".

"She's with you, probably".

"That's not what I meant," Sasuke grumbles, "I mean, where is she, _physically_. Where is she?"

Akihiko begins to shuffle with a quick action, "like I said, she's with you. She usually is. I know Sakura tends to a lot of people that are, well, affected as well. But she always finds time to check up on you. Maybe she just likes your company, not that you'd be much with the state _you're_ in".

Akihiko finishes shuffling, and suggests a new game he'd heard about on the road. Sasuke replies with a glare, and a frown, "what are you talking about?"

Akihiko blinks, "what do you mean?"

Now, he's had enough. Sasuke stands up, Akihiko straightens his posture in response; albeit being somewhat confused by said Uchiha's actions.

"What do you mean she's with me?" Sasuke asks through gritted teeth.

The two men in the room remain quiet for a total of three seconds. Then, Akihiko smiles, and shakes his head, "you don't get it".

"Get what?"

"Get..." he looks out the window, and sighs, "none of this is real, Sasuke".

.

.

The older you get, the more one falls into routine. It isn't really something to take note of. After all, such behaviour generally forms out of necessity, not choice. So when Sasuke notices the same nurse make the same joke at the nurse station everyday; welcomed by a sea of genuine laughter, or when he see the same bird fly by the window across the hall, followed by his pack at 1:00pm everyday, he begins to wonder – _why had he not noticed it before?_

"Hey, man, you've spaced out there," Naruto mumbles, waving his hand in front of Sasuke's face.

He blinks, then turns to the blond, "what?"

"...what?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, "what do you want?"

"Wha..." Naruto pauses, blinks, then lets out a huff, "You've been discharged, haven't you?"

Sasuke clicks his tongue, "...sure".

"Well," Naruto begins, a little haughty, "we should go get some ramen".

"No".

"I'm not taking no for an answer".

"Yes you will".

"Is that a _yes_ I hear," Naruto grins, leaning closer.

Sasuke grits his teeth.

.

.

Somehow Naruto is able to get him out for a single bowl of ramen.

Which turns into three.

...which eventually turns into Sasuke dragging himself back to his apartment at one in the morning.

.

.

.

" _Its strange," Sakura mumbles quietly, "its as if there is no real, link, whatsoever between all these cases". She bites the tip of her pen; a bad habit, and she knows it._

 _Sasuke instinctively takes her wrist, and pulls it away, subsequently moving said pen away from her mouth. "What do you need me to do?" he asks._

" _I don't know," she mumbles. "I don't...I can't figure this out"._

" _Is it of this world?"_

 _Sakura shrugs; replying that it may be but she cannot be sure – she cannot be sure of a lot nowadays. "I got word Shishou has been taken". A statement made merely to highlight the hopelessness of the situation. There is a lot riding on the shoulder of this young medic – Sasuke knows that, Sakura most certainly knows that._

 _If only he knew how he could help._

" _Genjutsu?"_

" _If it is," Sakura softly replies, "then its a powerful one"._

" _But its possible"._

" _It absolutely is, but for the way its effecting people – attacking randomly...it would be as if an individual is going out and targeting people one by one, and putting them under the genjutsu"._

 _Sasuke looks over Sakura's scribble; even in haste her handwriting is still rather neat. "Maybe its a team"._

" _A very skillful team," whispers Sakura._

 _She bites her bottom lip, and begins to mumble, or rather, recite passages of her medical textbooks under her breath. Sasuke tugs at his cloak, and frowns, "maybe I should go and visit some new villages"._

 _Sakura replies without looking up, "I can't leave"._

" _I didn't mean both of us, I just meant me"._

 _Now, she looks up. A trace of hurt is evident upon her expression, "you want to leave?"_

" _I want to help," he reiterates, "to see the effects on the other villages". He pauses, "it may be beneficial for you as well to know how far it reaches, and whether or not there are discrepancies due to location, or any other factor"._

 _Sakura nods, and closes the file she'd previously been scanning, "I suppose you're right. Its the logical thing to do"._

 _Her hesitation to agree stems purely from the fact that they will separate; as is needed. So to console, "It wont take long," Sasuke gently states._

 _Sakura shakes her head, "no, it might – and it might have to". She puts her pen down, "It will take as long as it takes. That may be several months. Years even. I'm starting from scratch, after all"._

 _._

 _._

 _._

It is a great oddity to see Naruto holed away in the library, pouring over what appears to be texts far exceeding the blond's capacity. But that is exactly where Sasuke finds Naruto one afternoon. A fortress of volumes surround the knuckle-head, although upon approaching the scene, Sasuke finds that Naruto isn't exactly reading anything of great difficulty.

"Comics?" Sasuke intones, taking the seat adjacent to Naruto.

Naruto exhales, and looks up, " _Manga_ ".

"...okay".

Naruto grins, "come by for a spar?"

"No".

"Ramen?"

"No".

The blond pauses, "has something, bad, happened?"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, "no – nothing like that. I've come to ask you something".

Naruto nods, and turns his body to face Sasuke; full attention is given. "Alright, shoot".

He had asked Naruto this question before, but he'd been rather vague about it. "Naruto," he begins, "a kunochi named, Sakura – do you know of her?"

Naruto stops, thinks, and scratches his chin, "what's her last name?"

Sasuke opens his mouth to answer, then closes it – _what_ _ **is**_ _her last name?_

There must have been a dream he'd have where such a thing was revealed. Sakura's last name; Sasuke begins to rack his brain – he must have some memory of it. He just has to.

"Uh...Sasuke?" Naruto slowly inquires – but the remark falls on deaf ears.

Sasuke continues to think; he remembers – _a dream_ – one where he and Sakura were visiting a market.

 _The market was loud, crowds of people surrounded the most popular stores._

 _Sakura felt right at home; she enjoyed the loudness, the activity, the life. Sasuke on the other hand preferred to just hold his tongue, and stick close to his companion._

 _An elderly lady from a store a couple of metres in front of them wave down the young kunochi. "Mrs Uchiha," the elderly lady calls out, "I've got a fresh batch of vegetables, just came in this morning. Why not take a look"._

Sasuke's eyes look up – Naruto is staring at him with an expression half of confusion, and boredom.

Sasuke replies, "she has the same last name as me".

.

.

"Yea...figures," Akihiko remarks, leaning back in his bed, and propping his hands behind his head.

Sasuke remains standing, arms crossed over his chest, "why wouldn't Naruto remember?"

"Of course she's your wife," Akihiko mumbles, "hoped it wasn't too serious...but this..."

Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose, "why wouldn't Naruto remember?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke narrows his gaze.

Akihiko smirks, "the jinchurukii, yea?"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, the younger man laughs.

"He's well know," Akihiko clarifies, "hero of the war, and all".

Sasuke nods, "well, why doesn't he remember her?"

Akihiko shrugs, "your guess is as good as mine".

A dead end – apparently, "you must have some theory behind it".

Akihiko smirks, which slowly forms to a chuckle. "I have a theory," he states, but stops as his eyes wander towards the door. Sasuke frowns, and follows Akihiko's line of sight.

The shinobi scheduled to guard Akihiko has returned from his bathroom break. "Hey," he says, "it was my shift today, what're doing here Uchiha?"

Sasuke turns around, "go get something to eat, I'll look over the prisoner for a little longer".

The shinobi standing in the doorway stops; mouth agape. He frowns, but before he can retort, Akihiko jumps in, "you're still getting paid, big guy".

That remarks is enough to appease the shinobi as thereafter he leaves without a fuss.

Akihiko smiles, and nods to the chair. Sasuke instead remains standing. "What's your theory?" he asks.

Akihiko exhales softly, "I think," he says, "I think, that, all the people here that can't remember their past lives, are lost causes".

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, "lost causes?"

Akihiko shrugs, "I don't know. I'm not sure how to properly classify it...look, all I mean is that they don't have a chance at returning".

"Returning?"

"Returning home. Returning to what is real".

"And we do?"

"Yes...I think we do".

"Okay," Sasuke smirks, taking half a step closer, "and how do you propose we do that?"

Akihiko doesn't cower to the glare, he sits up, "lets make a deal".

Sasuke frowns, "what?"

"A deal," Akihiko replies, "I'll tell you what I think we need to do, and you bust me out of here".

Sasuke scans the expression of his company. He appears genuine, "you're locked to a bed with handcuffs, it isn't that hard to escape".

"On the contrary," Akihiko remarks, a little cheekily, "these damn things," he lifts his wrist, and causes the metal to rattle against the rail, "they drain my chakra".

Sasuke looks down at the cuffs, "I see".

"So you'll help me escape?"

Sasuke looks back up – those handcuffs don't look like they're that hard to break.

.

.

The pair end up on the rooftop of the hospital less than twenty minutes after the deal had been made. Akihiko stands unimpressed; donned still in his hospital gown, and his handcuffs – still attached to him, but with the other end now only attached to a bar segment that once belonged to a hospital bed railing.

Sasuke stands by what he did – the handcuffs may have been harder to break than he'd initially assumed, but the hospital bed wasn't.

"That was just unnecessary destruction of property," Akihiko remarks blankly.

Sasuke replies, "I disagree".

.

.

Akihiko's current guard on duty returns to the room. Hands full of chocolates, cakes, chips, and sweets – all of which is drop to the floor the moment he comes before the empty room.

"Oh...shit".

.

.

"Alright," Sasuke begins, "how do we...get out of here?"

"Here as in the...rooftop?"

Sasuke narrows his eyes – Akihiko's hospital gown begins to blow around due to a sudden breeze, "oh, sorry," he quickly adds, holding down the gown.

Sasuke turns around – _now he'll have to somehow repress that image_.

"Okay," Akihiko continues, "jokes aside, what I think...its, well, its sort of based of something Sakura told me back when, back when I wasn't taken".

Sasuke turns back around, and nods for the other man to continue talking.

"You've probably noticed, but we can't exactly feel...pain".

Sasuke raises an eyebrow – yes; he has noticed, "so?" he asks.

"So," Akihiko continues, "these bodies," he points with his thumb towards hi chest, "aren't real". Then, he smirks, "but our minds are, for we still remember our past".

"And for everyone else?" asks Sasuke.

Akihiko shrugs, "oh...I don't know, maybe they can't reach their bodies, so their lives can only exist here now".

Sasuke rolls his eyes, "this sounds ridiculous".

"And yet," Akihiko remarks, "I can stab you and you'd feel nothing – isn't that in itself, rather ridiculous?"

He had a point, "so, what are we meant to do about this?"

Akihiko smiles, and turns to the ledge of the hospital's roof, "we get rid of these bodies, so our minds have only one place to go – our original bodies".

Sasuke takes half a step forward, "you don't mean..."

Akihiko nods, "don't worry," he smirks, "it wont hurt".


End file.
